I got off the circulating carriage and walked aimlessly.
It had been a long ti since the sun had set.
I relied solely on the flashlight's light as I walked.
-Chirp, chirp, chirp
In the quiet forest, the sound of insects filled the air in a rhythmic manner.
The eastern forest is open to regular students.
Of course, there are no monsters.
There's no tension.
It's actually quite boring.
It would be less lonely if soone was walking beside .
Perhaps thinking that made it feel as if sothing was following .
I looked back several tis, but there was nothing there.
'Ghosts shouldn't exist.'
In this world, ghosts are real.
If one has mana, they can see spirits.
Of course, I can't see them because my mana is zero.
-Gulp, gulp.
After walking for about an hour, like before, I drank so water.
There's still plenty of water left.
When going sowhere in this world, the most important thing is drinking water.
I brought a lot, and it should be enough to last until I return tomorrow.
My body feels less exhausted, probably because my endurance increased by one yesterday.
"Ugh, ah."
After a 10-minute break, I stretched and resud walking.
The current ti is 2 a.m.
I've been walking for about eight hours since I got off the circulating carriage at 6 p.m.
It should be ti to arrive...
As I thought that, I shone my flashlight forward and discovered a signpost.
It's proof that I'm almost there.
If I continue like this for about three more minutes, I'll arrive at the place where the first hidden piece is resting.
The first hidden piece is not equipnt like weapons or armor, but a consumable.
It's a potion.
It's a bound item that takes effect once consud.
Trudge, trudge, trudge.
As expected, after about three minutes, I saw an unusually large rock.
As if proving the passage of ti, nurous plants entwined together, covering the rock's surface.
I used a dagger to cut away all the entangled plants.
Then, the true appearance of the rock, riddled with holes, was revealed.
There seed to be more than twenty holes throughout the rock.
There were 23 in the original work.
I counted them myself, and both the locations and the number of holes are the sa.
Now, I just have to cover three of these holes simultaneously.
Poof!
I imdiately stuck my fingers into the holes.
Soon, the rock trembled slightly and split in half.
Inside was a small glass bottle filled with brown liquid.
The first hidden piece, Natural Power.
As the na implies, by drinking this liquid, it increases one's innate strength.
In other words, it raises one's stats.
For a certain period, it can also grant a special effect that increases the rate of stat growth.
However, when the stat is over 15, both the passive effect and special effect disappear, so it's only useful early on.
In the Spear Master route, Neike reaches all stats 15 around the end of the second year. Even if Neike chooses this, the effective period is just over a year and a half.
The destruction of the academy, where students, instructors, and professors die one after another, begins from the third year. In other words, Neike doesn't need Natural Power in the Spear Master route.
But it will be a great help for , who has strength and stamina of 7.
By the way, the information about Hidden Piece doesn't appear in this work.
●?? [Grade: ??]
: The information cannot be confird.
As expected, I can't see it. I carefully wrapped the glass bottle in a handkerchief and put it in my pocket.
I'll go back to the room and drink it.
After taking Natural Power, you'll fall asleep for 12 hours. It's not dangerous here since there are no monsters, but sleeping for 12 hours in a dark and damp forest is undesirable.
Now that I've secured the Hidden Piece, let's take a short nap and leave the forest.
I imdiately prepared to camp. I picked up branches scattered around and made a fire.
My body ward up quickly.
I brought a thick down jacket and a blanket in case it gets cold, but it seems I won't need the blanket.
I put on the jacket and sat down, leaning my back against a large tree. Drowsiness hit instantly.
Well, even though I took so breaks in between, I walked for over 8 hours.
Just as I was about to fall asleep,
Rustle, rustle—
The sound of stepping on fallen leaves ca from nearby.
I grabbed the short sword on my waist with one hand and shined a flashlight on the source of the sound with the other.
"...Huh!"
There was a girl with long silver hair resembling .
"…Aisha. What brings you all the way here?"
I lowered the flashlight and looked at Aisha. She couldn't et my eyes and spoke awkwardly.
"Ah... I had nothing to do during the weekend, so I followed you. It's natural for a child of a collateral family to assist the direct heir, right?"
…I don't think that's the setting.
I stared at Aisha silently.
As expected, it was a lie. Aisha's physical condition was honest.
Her silver hair, which was calm and shiny just a few hours ago, was disheveled, and her clean uniform was dirty in places.
Above all, her lips. The soft, moist lips were cracked like dried earth after rain.
It was proof that she hadn't drunk much water.
"Sigh."
I let out a low sigh.
She flinched and looked away, bowing her head. As if waiting for punishnt.
"…"
Honestly, I was angry. It's like being stalked, in a way.
I stared into the campfire and spoke.
"Aisha."
"······Yes."
Aisha's voice trembled.
"Sit down."
After a mont of silence, Aisha questioned.
"······Y-Yes?"
"Sit. Don't make say it twice."
Aisha hesitated, then sat down where she was standing.
······Obviously, she should have co closer to the campfire and sat.
The night air in the forest is chilly.
Even outstanding students from the Hero Departnt might catch a cold if they stay like that.
It seems she really dislikes .
Is she that angry for being rejected for dinner?
"······I ant to co and sit near the campfire."
"Ah, yes······ Yes!"
Aisha hurriedly approached and sat near the campfire.
The flickering flas illuminated her face.
Her cheeks appeared to be considerably gaunt.
Her lips were dry and parched.
I looked at Aisha for a while and said.
"You haven't prepared anything for the journey."
Aisha's face turned noticeably red.
"······I-I-I'm sorry─"
"Drink."
I handed her the water bottle.
"······Huh?"
Aisha blinked, looking back and forth between the water bottle in my hand and my face.
"My arm is getting tired."
"A-ah, yes, yes!"
Aisha quickly took the water bottle.
And then.
Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp─
Her throat must have been parched; she impolitely drank from soone else's water bottle without hesitation.
After drinking water for quite a while, she let out a sigh of relief and finally took her mouth off the water bottle.
"Th-thank you, Theo······sir."
Aisha returned the water bottle to .
······.
A mont of silence followed.
What broke the silence was,
-Grrrrrrrr
The sound from Aisha's stomach.
Her eyes widened, and she began to stamr.
"Ah! Th-this, this is! It's not that, but, uh······"
Her face turned red, resembling a strawberry.
······In the original story, Aisha always had a composed smile on her face, manipulating the surrounding characters as a rational strategist.
But the flustered girl in front of was vastly different from the Aisha Waldeurk character in my mind.
That timid girl could actually try to kill .
This is really sothing.
While listening to her stamring, I took a frying pan and so food out of my bag.
"Wait a mont while eating this."
I handed Aisha so biscuits and cooked sausages and bread.
[It's a family matter.]
Aisha couldn't forget what Theo had said earlier.
It seed like an excuse, but ntioning the family's authority was strange.
She was sure sothing was up.
Although she didn't know what it was, her intuition told her so.
She needed to find out quickly.
After Theo left the classroom, Aisha followed him imdiately.
She then got on the sa circular carriage as him.
She got off one stop after where Theo had alighted.
Fortunately, traces of his footsteps remained.
Though it was only a one-stop difference, it took 20 minutes on foot.
And since she was tracing his steps, her pace was slower than expected.
If this went on, she would lose him.
Aisha drew up mana to strengthen her eyes and legs, and then she ran.
However, her physical enhancent was still unskilled.
The wasted mana was much more than the utilized mana.
Her mana rapidly depleted.
Nevertheless, she didn't undo the enhancent, and continued chasing after Theo.
'Where on earth is he going...'
A few hours later, Aisha beca mana-exhausted.
She felt like collapsing, but she held on with her willpower, and kept her eyes wide open to not lose sight of his tracks.
But a limit that she couldn't overco with her willpower alone ca.
She hadn't prepared any water or food as she had followed him right away.
Her throat was dry, stomach hungry, and her body swaying due to mana exhaustion.
It wouldn't be strange if she fainted at any mont.
She couldn't maintain her speed.
Eventually, Theo disappeared from her sight.
'Alright, let's just rest a bit... I'll catch up later. His footsteps will still be there.'
Thinking that, Aisha leaned against a large tree and closed her eyes.
That was when she was discovered by Theo.
She only ant to close her eyes for a mont but had fallen into a deep sleep.
When Theo shone his flashlight on her, the only thought that crossed her mind was, 'It's over... I ssed up.'
She couldn't think rationally.
She just blurted out whatever ca to her mind.
But Theo didn't bla her.
Instead, he took care of her.
His tone was as stern as always, but he was so gentle.
Feeling full and basking in the warmth of the fire, drowsiness rapidly overtook her.
'Ah, this is so good...'
Aisha's taste was as refined as Theo's.
She had a luxurious lunchbox made by her servant instead of eating at the student cafeteria for lunch, and she had dinner at restaurants.
Delicious food was a great source of vitality for Aisha.
The sausage and bread that Theo had grilled for her tasted better and warr than any other food she had ever eaten.
She almost shed tears while eating.
She glanced at Theo as she turned her head slightly.
He was cleaning the frying pan with leaves.
"Ah, I, I can do it!"
"No, it's fine. You rest."
He briefly looked at her, then continued to clean the frying pan.
'Was he always capable of doing things like this?'
She occasionally stole glances at Theo while thinking of various things.
He took sothing out of his backpack and handed it to her.
"Here."
It was a blanket.
"Thank you, Theo..."
"I'll go to sleep now. Goodnight."
Saying that, Theo leaned against a tree and closed his eyes.
Soon, he fell asleep.
Regular breathing sounds could be heard.
Aisha gazed at Theo's sleeping face.
Though they were distant relatives who resembled each other, they were practically strangers.
Her family had split from his direct line centuries ago.
They were connected only by a few drops of shared blood.
Aisha wrapped herself in the blanket.
She could distinctly sll him.
"Sleep well, too."
***
Alabama route unlocked...
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